RatchumInABrat Posted May 17, 2013 Share Posted May 17, 2013 Hi there folks. I have been absent from the forums (and from my shop) for a few months due to 84 hour work weeks. Yikes! They're finally moving my hours back enough that I'm starting some of my planned summer projects on my BRAT. Now I've been researching all afternoon for a thread anywhere on the Internet and only found one in which a guy upgraded his subaru brat hubs to a modern subaru 5 lug. My question is, what all HAS to be changed to get the new hubs? I know I'll need new rotors and brake assembly but can I keep the same struts and tierod and such? I'm looking for cost effectiveness but I will change anything that makes sense to. Thanks in advance! Ratch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RatchumInABrat Posted May 17, 2013 Author Share Posted May 17, 2013 Btw. The reason I'm looking at upgrading is my wheel bearings inside the hub are worn out and also my master cylinders are on their last legs. And I'm soon to be replacing ball joints, tie did ends, and rotors. So with all that work I assumed an upgrade to modern, easier to find, more effective parts just makes more sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djellum Posted May 17, 2013 Share Posted May 17, 2013 you can take the normal hubs and drill 4 holes to make them the common 6 lug pattern. Toyota, Nissan, I believe Ford as well. you can upgrade to legacy suspension, but its a pretty involved process and ends up I believe with hybrid equipment like combining 2 different CV's into one. look in the 4x4 section for the drill instruction, but its really simple, drill 4 holes, put lug stud in them, then redo the bearings and such and install. you can even drill the holes while its getting rebuilt and do the lug studs and wheels later if you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted May 17, 2013 Share Posted May 17, 2013 you could theoretcally retrofit parts, but you will still need to hybrid or fabricate key parts, such as the length of the axle in the brat is shorter than any 5 lug setup. For the rear you would have to fabricate, purchase a cross bred performance kit, or salvage the rear hub and disc brake assembly from an xt-6. Do your homework on axle shaft diameters as it may be possible to hybrid an axle with parts based on diameter and spline, etc. The brat has a 23 spline axle. any 5 lug axle would have a 25 spline axle, although a 93 FWD impreza has a 23 spline. You could shorten the axle shaft and re-couple it or machine down one end. Even if you cobble up an axle, you may have to change an inner seal on the knuckle to match the particular axle stub. This is the real trick to 5 lug a brat. Peugeot 405 and 505 have the same 140X4 pattern and offers 14 and 15" wheels options. Doing the same 5 lug swap on an ea82 body (loyale) would mostly be a bolt-on affair as the axle length is wider like the later 5 lug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyale 2.7 Turbo Posted May 17, 2013 Share Posted May 17, 2013 you can take the normal hubs and drill 4 holes to make them the common 6 lug pattern. Toyota, Nissan, I believe Ford as well... ...or Redrill a 5X100 as well. I redrilled mines to 4X114.3 more than a Decade and a half ago and they work flawlessly since then. ...Peugeot 405 and 505 have the same 140X4 pattern and offers 14 and 15" wheels options... Also Renault, but I don't know about their availability in USDM. Kind Regards. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RatchumInABrat Posted May 17, 2013 Author Share Posted May 17, 2013 Thanks guys. I knew about the 4 lug but I'm not so worried about new wheels as I am about getting new hubs that's dont grind while I'm cruising Thanks a ton miles! Sending those cvs out for machining and swapping sounds expensive, maybe ill just try to order new wheel bearings and go that route for now. In the very least, when and if I do make the swap I have all new front suspension parts for my next old gen or to sell on here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djellum Posted May 18, 2013 Share Posted May 18, 2013 its almost always better to just fix what you have. your parts probably lasted 200k already, just replace them and you will get another 200k. you could make a case for going to newer CV's, just because aftermarket for us is so bad, but even then I think its just better to spend some extra money on good ones, or I take it to a local shop with a 12 month warranty. It costs $150 a side for parts labor and warranty, so I figure its $15 a month for CV insurance. Oh and check your machine shops prices. I was going to do all my bearings myself even though they "require" them to be pressed, but then I found out that my local shop would press out the old bearings, hot tank the spindles, grease and press in new bearings, and install seals and CV's for $35 a side. Pretty cheap versus cussing all day long at them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyale 2.7 Turbo Posted May 19, 2013 Share Posted May 19, 2013 In the Subject of Redrillin' the Hubs, take a Look at this Thread: ~► http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/131565-sjr-full-time/ Kind Regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott in Bellingham Posted May 19, 2013 Share Posted May 19, 2013 I just did a set of 4 x 100mm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RatchumInABrat Posted May 19, 2013 Author Share Posted May 19, 2013 Awesome link! I might just buy a set of new hubs too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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